In what probably is a first for the legislature, a state senator did the “crow” yoga position on his desk after lawmakers approved a bill exempting yoga teacher training from vocational regulations.

The stance — displayed by Republican Owen Hill of Colorado Springs and which involves hoisting one’s body up on two arms — delighted the estimated two dozen yoga teachers who showed up Wednesday before the Senate Education Committee to testify that the training rarely leads to a full-time profession.

They said yoga teacher training isn’t the same as programs that train students to be dog groomers or truck drivers.

“For most, yoga isn’t a profession; it’s a passion,” agreed state Sen. Laura Woods, R-Arvada. “For years, the yoga teacher training schools have been operating without government intervention. In all those years, we do not know of a single complaint against the yoga teacher training schools.”

Woods sponsored the bipartisan bill. The committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 186, which now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Yoga teachers have been bent out of joint since last fall when another yogi complained that only six yoga-teacher training studios were following a 2002 regulation that required they be certified with the state. In response, the Division of Private Occupational Schools mailed 82 letters, asking program operators to provide a brief summary of their operation, a copy of a school catalog and brochure, and their recruiting materials.

The teachers protested. They said state certification fees, which begin at $1,750, would put them out of business. And they questioned why yoga was included with traditional vocational school programs because so few students go on to teach yoga full time.